Tile attaching clip



Nov. 26, 1935. T. BOCKMAN TILE ATTACHING CLIP Filed May 29. 1951 INVENTOR 54500025 BOCKMHN- ATTORN EY;

Patented Nov. 26, 1935 ma n'r'rnonmc. our

Theodore Bochnan, Chicago, 11]., minor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 29, 1931, Serial No. 541,022

9 Claims. (01. 12-20) This invention relates to a building construction, and has reference'more particularly to clips suitable for attaching acoustical or other tiles to ceilings, walls and the like.

Acoustical tiles are commonly made of a mineral wool base, held together by binding agents, or from other fibrous material such as excelsior, wood fiber, bagasse, etc. These tiles are usually attached to building surfaces such as walls and ceilings by means of adhesive materials, among which might be mentioned asphalt emulsion, glue, silicates, dextrines, etc. Owing to the expansion and contraction of the acoustical tiles under varying conditions of temperature and humidity, it sometimes happens that tiles break loose from a. building surface either due to failure of the adhesive material used or due to the poor quality -of the surface itself, such, for example, as where the surface has been painted and the paint underlying the adhesive becomes loose, or the surface becomes warped due to settling of the building. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a mechanical attaching means in addition to the ad- Q hesive materal so as to insure that the tiles are firmly held in position over a long period of time.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a clip suitable for attaching acoustical tiles to the walls and ceilings of buildings; also to'improve building construction in other respects,

. hereinafter specified and claimed.

. Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a ceiling or wall construction showing my improved clip for attaching the tiles to the building surface,

Fig. 2 is another view similar to Fig. I, but showing only one tile in position,

Fig. 3 is perspective view of the clip shown in Figures 1 and 2,

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation through a ceiling or wall construction, showing a modified form of attaching clip; and o Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clip shown in Fig. 4.

The acoustical tiles It to be attached to a building surface I l such as a plastered ceiling or wall, are frangible and preferably composed of a base of mineral wool, porous ceramic material, porous gypsum products, or various fibrous materials as heretofore mentioned. The tiles are usually rectangular in shape, but may be any other shape or design suitable for .carrying out a particular architectural effect. The exposed edges of the tiles are preferably provided with bevels I! to add sound waves and prevent echoes in a room.

to the passage of-air.

' into the tile as the prong I9 enters the latter.

to the pleasing appearance of the building surface. The exposed surface of the tiles l0 isporous in character and the pores throughout the tile are inter-communicating so as 'to absorb 5 The tiles are preferably attached to the building surface II by means of an adhesive material It, such as asphalt emulsion, which is applied around the exterior back surface of theme, and L joins the tiles to the surface II. In order to pre- 10 vent breathing of air through the tile into and out of. the space ll between the center of the tile and the building surface, it is customary to provide a backing material lS for the tile, which is preferably of paper or other material impervious 15 The adhesive material I! preferably overlaps the sheet of paper l5, so as also to aid in preventing breathing of air through the tile, with consequent soiling of the surface of the tiles, due to dirt and dust carried 20 by the air.

My improved clip is preferably in the form of an L-shaped piece of metal, having a leg H extending substantially parallel to the .back of thetile and a leg l8 extending parallel and in con- 35 tact with the edgeof the tile, so as to lie between the adjoining edges of adjacent tiles. One or more prongs or tongues l9 and 20 may be formed along the edge of the leg I8 and disposed substantially at right angles thereto, so as to lie parallel 30' with leg I I. The distance between the tongues I9 and 20 and the leg I1 is somewhat less than the thickness of tile III. A finishing nail 22 extends at an angle through the prong I9 and the leg IT. This nail 22 is preferably put in position in the clip before the clip is applied to the back edge of the tile, with the prong I9 extending inwardly into the tile, and because of the soft character of the tile I0, nail 22 can be forced laterally In this way the clips may be attached to the tiles at the factory so as to give the least possible trouble in erection, but they may also be applied by the workmen on the job if desired. In practice as many clips are used with a tile as are found to be desirable under the particular circumstances, taking into consideration the strength of the tile material, the size of the tile and the conditions to which the tiled surface will be subjected. Ordinarily, only one clip maybe necessary to each tile edge, and sometimes more or less, depending substantially on the circumstances outlined. The clips maybe placed .anywhere along the tile edge intermediate the corners, because the penedo trable nature of the tile material permits a clip to be forced into place arbitrarily as desired.

The nail 22 extends inwardly at an angle as shown in Fig. 4, and may also extend laterally at an angle as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, suitable apertures being preferably provided in base l1 and tongue IQ for guiding the placement of nail 22. Therefore, after the application of the tile to the wall by means of the adhesive I3, the nails 22 are driven into place into the building surface I l by means of a nail set, and are firmly held in said surface, aided substantially by the angular relation of the nails relative to the building surface. This angular relation of the nails to the building surface is particularly desirable where said building surface comprises a plastered wall or ceiling, since a plastered surface which has set will not securely retain a nail driven thereinto as will wood, for instance, because the plaster is frangible and crumbles under impact, so that little, if any, compression is afforded around the nail for gripping the same. However, where the nails 22 are driven into the plaster at an angle as described, a good, substantially hook-like connection is provided between the tile l0, clip l1 and surface I I, for after the tile are all erected, one abutting the other, the only possible direction inwhich a tile 10 can be moved relative to surface II is perpendicularly away from. said surface ll. Obviously, since nails 22 are maintained in angular position by the clips through which they pass, and. tiles III are securely held by the clips, said tile will in effect be suspended from surface II and thoroughly secured against displacement; whereas, if nails 22 are driven perpendicularly into surface ll, said nails will be ineffective for the desired purpose as they will, for the most part, readily pull out of the plaster. The final driving of the nail may be accomplished with an ordinary nail set, so that the head of the nail is substantially concealed by the body of the tile when viewed from below at a little distance. r

If desired, the clip may be provided with th additional outstanding tongue 20 as seen in Figs. 1', 2, and 3, so that when one tile is in position,

the next tile is pushed into place with the prong 20 extending into the edge of the tile, thusnecwsitating the use of about half as many clips as is necessary if only the single prong I9 is employed.

Where the clips are attached to the tile edges at the factory or the tile will be subject to considerable handling before erection, so that the clips might become displaced, it is desirable to insert a headed nail 24 through leg I! of the clip into the body of tile I. For this purpose a suitable perioration may be formed in leg I8. Not only do nails 24 serve to prevent displacement of the clips from the tiles prior to erection, but said nails also serve to some extent to supplement prongs 19 as gripping means to support said tile after erection.

The construction described has been found to Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The method of attaching acoustical tiles of a soft, fibrous nature to a building surface, which comprises positioning a clip adjacent to the edge 5 of a tile, said clip having an outstanding prong and a-leg in substantially parallel relation, a nail passing through said prong and leg and being held in angular relation thereby, forcing said prong into the edge of said tile so that said nail 10 is forced into the material of said tile transversely of the axis of said nail, said nail being assembled on said clip prior to said forcing operation, applying said tile and clips to said building surface, and driving said nail into said building surface so 15 that the head of said nail is countersunk below the surface of said tile to a point adjacent said prong.

2. A metallic clip suitable for attaching acoustical tiles to a building surface, having a leg to 50 be placed in substantially parallel relation with the back of a tile, a tongue adapted to extend into the body of said. tile, said tongue and leg having apertures formed therein, and a nail extending through and frictionally held in said apertures, 15 said apertures accurately defining the position of said nail.

3. A clip of the class described, comprising a. pair of angular legs, a tongue in angular relationship with one of said legs and extending sub- 30 stantially parallel with the other leg, said tongue and parallel leg being provided with a perforation for guiding a nail, and said one leg being provided with a perforation for receiving a nail in angular relationship to said first mentioned nail. 35

4. A clip of the class described, comprising a pair of angular legs, a tongue in angular relationship with one'of said legs and extending substantially parallel with the other leg, said tongue and said parallel leg being provided with off-set 40 perforations, a nail passing through said perfos rations and being accurately guided by said perforations in slanting relationship relative to said tile adapted for covering a building surface, a clip having a prong forced into and embedded in the edge of said tile, 9. leg of said clip lying against 50 said tile edge and another leg of said clip lying against the back face of said tile, and a finishing nail extending through said prong and said last mentioned clip leg and adapted to be driven into a building surface for attaching said tile to said 55 surface, said nail being forced laterally into said tile together with said prong.

6. In an acoustical building construction, a building surface, an acoustical tile extending parallel to and somewhat spaced from said surface, adhesive means around the rear face perimeter of said tile for attaching said tile to said surface,

a backing on said rear face of said tile to prevent breathing through said tile, a clip adjacent a rear 6 edge of said tile, and a nail extending through a portion of said tile and said clip and into said building surface for supplementing said adhesive said tile, a part of said clip inengagement with the back of said tile. said clip part and prong having offset perforations formed therein, and a thin finishing nail extending at an angle through the perforations in said clip part and prong and a portion of said tile and into said building surface, said clip and nail providing substantially hook-like connection between said tile and pinstered surface.

8. In a construction of the class described, a plastered surface, a pair of tiles in edge-abutting relation adjacent said surface, the outer corners of the abutting edges being beveled, an; attachment element embedded in said tile edges, and a nail driven through said attachment element in one of the tiles and into said surface, said nail entering said tile at a slanting. angle inwardly through the bevelled corner at the' tile edge, said angle being such as not to interfere with the ad- Joining tile when said nail is countersunk but suilicientsothatthenailheadishiddenbyan over-hanging portion of the tile face, the nail also being at an angle longitudinally of said tile edge somewhat greater than the inward inclination so as to provide a hook-like connection for I the tile in said plastered surface.

9. In a building construction, a plastered surface, a tile in engagement with said surface, a metallic clip having a portion embedded in the edge of said tile, a nail extending through said tile in and the head of said nail lying within the body is of said tile inwardly from said edge so as to be substantially hidden from view.

THEODORE BOCKMAN. 

